How Brite Payments Is Reshaping European FinTech (and the Challenges Ahead)

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-23

In a recent conversation, Lena Hackelöer, founder and CEO of Brite Payments, opened up about the company's journey and what it really takes to scale a FinTech across Europe. It's not just about having a great product—it's about navigating a patchwork of regulations, cultural differences, and consumer habits. Here's what she had to say. ### From Swedish Startup to Pan-European Player Brite Payments started in Sweden back in 2019. Fast forward a few years, and it's now a leading pay-by-bank provider operating across 27 European markets. That kind of growth doesn't happen by accident. After its Series A round, the company pushed into Germany and France—two markets that couldn't be more different from each other or from Sweden. Lena's background played a huge role here. She worked at Klarna during its hyper-growth phase, learning how to build and internationalize a fast-moving FinTech. Then she moved to a listed financial services company, where she got a firsthand look at operating in a highly regulated environment. That combination of speed and compliance is rare, and it's exactly what Brite needed. ### Why European Payment Sovereignty Isn't Enough There's a lot of talk about Europe needing its own payment infrastructure. Brite is building a pan-European instant payment network that reduces reliance on non-European systems. But Lena is clear: sovereignty alone won't drive adoption. What actually matters to merchants and consumers is convenience, reliability, conversion rates, and lower processing costs. If a payment method isn't faster or cheaper than what's already out there, no one cares where the infrastructure lives. It's a practical lesson that applies far beyond payments. ### The Complexity of Scaling Across Europe Here's the thing about Europe: it's not one market. It's dozens of them, each with its own language, culture, banking system, and regulations. Yes, licenses can be passported across the EU, but requirements still vary between regulators. That makes expansion a real headache. Lena explains why localisation is non-negotiable. German consumers, for example, tend to care a lot about security and data protection. Swedish users are more comfortable with digital transparency. Brite's solution is to keep the technology centralised while bringing in local expertise for each market. It's a hybrid approach that lets them adapt without losing efficiency. ### What's Driving Pay-by-Bank Adoption Looking ahead, Lena sees convenience as the main driver. Mobile banking is getting better. App-to-app authentication is smoother. Instant payments are becoming the norm. All of this makes pay-by-bank faster and more attractive. Think about it: instant confirmation, rapid refunds, quicker payouts. For merchants, that means better cash flow and fewer chargebacks. For consumers, it's a seamless experience that doesn't require pulling out a credit card or typing in a bunch of numbers. ### The Reality of Female Entrepreneurship in FinTech The conversation also touched on something that doesn't get enough attention: the challenges women face in FinTech. Lena believes progress is happening as more women gain senior experience and build professional networks. But she's honest about the barriers that remain. - Funding inequalities are still a big issue. - Access to technical careers is limited. - Female participation in engineering remains low. These aren't problems that solve themselves. They require deliberate effort from investors, companies, and the broader ecosystem. Lena's point is simple: we need more women in leadership, and that means fixing the pipeline at every stage. ### Key Takeaways - Brite Payments has grown from a Swedish startup into a pan-European pay-by-bank platform operating across 27 markets. - Lena's experience at Klarna helped shape her entrepreneurial approach and payments expertise. - European payment sovereignty matters, but adoption depends on convenience, reliability, conversion rates, and commercial value. - Fragmented regulation, banking infrastructure, and consumer behaviour make European expansion complex. - Mobile banking, instant payments, and app-to-app authentication are making pay-by-bank services faster and more attractive. - Greater female representation will require better access to funding, technical careers, and senior leadership opportunities. If you're building a FinTech or thinking about expanding across Europe, Lena's insights are a reminder that the real work isn't just about technology. It's about understanding people, markets, and the messy reality of doing business across borders.